diff --git a/tasks/assert_env_var_not_empty.yml b/tasks/assert_env_var_not_empty.yml
index 1b73ef4..04c610a 100755
--- a/tasks/assert_env_var_not_empty.yml
+++ b/tasks/assert_env_var_not_empty.yml
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
 - name: Assert {{ item }} environment variable is set
   ansible.builtin.assert:
     that:
-      - lookup('env','{{ item }}') | length > 0
+      - lookup('env','' ~ item) | length > 0
     msg: "{{ item }} environment variable must be set"